One thing that does seem clear is that warmer oceans (a la global warming) mean more evaporation, and that likely leads to storms with more and more dangerous rainfall of the kind we saw with Hurricane Irene last year. In addition, a paper published just last month, used records of storm surges going back to 1923 as a measure of hurricane activity. A strong correlation between warm years and strong hurricanes was seen. Thus if you warm the planet, you can expect more dangerous storms.

Which brings us to our bottom line. The science of climate attribution is very exciting and full of cool, new ideas. It has already provided us with first steps towards more precision in understanding how climate change is changing climate now, already. For hurricanes, however, sticking to the science means it is still hard to point to an individual storm and say, yes! Climate change! A more reasoned approach is to take the full weight of our understanding about the Earth and its systems and go beyond asking if any particular event is due to global warming or natural variability. As Kevin Ternbeth of NCAR says “Nowadays, there’s always an element of both.”

Whatever happened to the victims of the flooding in the Northland? People have mostly moved on but the Duluth News Tribune says there’s still suffering going around a Fond du Lac neighborhood. In Moose Lake, it’s been “pure hell,” says one man, whose mother lost her home. She couldn’t get flood insurance and now they can’t afford to repair the home.

“It was really heartbreaking watching her go there every day, just looking at the place and just crying,” he says. “Everything she had was right there, and now it’s gone.”

Was a weekend piece about the whiteness of the Minnesota Timberwolves a fair piece? The Star Tribune counted the number of whites on the active roster, compared it to the number of African Americans, and built a story that it mirrors a racist element in the team makeup.

Ron Edwards, a longtime Minneapolis civil rights advocate, said he remembers a day last winter when he was watching the Wolves and the only black player on the floor was Wes Johnson, a situation he calls “somewhat disturbing.” His sentiments grew stronger, he said, as he watched the team’s roster grow even more white this offseason.

“It raises some real questions to me about what’s really intended,” Edwards said. “I think, personally, that it was calculated. Is this an attempt to get fans back in the stands? Minnesota, after all, is a pretty white state.”

Terrell calls it “scary” that the Wolves would assemble a roster almost 70 percent white in a sport so dominated by blacks. For Edwards, the numbers trouble him by the “historical view,” what he calls a “nullification of diversity and a reversal of history.”

4) THE ETHICS OF UNMASKING

You learn the true identity of a an anonymous man who has been “trolling” the Internet. You’re an online reporter. You confront the man and he begs you not to publicize his name because his wife is disabled, he’ll lose his job, and the health insurance she requires. You publish his name, he loses his job, and the health insurance she required. Were you right or wrong? It happened earlier this month.

Wired.com considers the ethics …

When someone’s been wronged – or the opportunity arises to use someone to make a statement – it is relatively easy to leverage social media to incite the hive mind to draw attention to an individual. The same tactic that trolls use to target people is the same tactic that people use to out trolls.

More often than not, those who use these tools do so when they feel they’re on the right side of justice. They’re either shining a spotlight to make a point or to shame someone into what they perceive to be socially acceptable behavior. But each act of outing has consequences for the people being outed, even if we do not like them or what they’ve done.

This raises serious moral and ethical concerns: In a networked society, who among us gets to decide where the moral boundaries lie? This isn’t an easy question and it’s at the root of how we, as a society, conceptualize justice.

Talk of the Nation (1-2 p.m.) – Defining success in Afghanistan. After a spate of so-called green on blue attacks, U.S. troops restricted joint operations with Afghan forces. Retired Army officer Doug Ollivant called this “the latest in a series of setbacks and/or bad news.” Retired Army officer John Nagl says America needs to be reminded of what it’s really like to lose a war.

All Things Considered (3-6:30 p.m.) - Colleges and universities have crossed a new frontier in online education. That frontier is the Massive Open Online Course, and supporters say it has the potential to bring high-quality education to the masses at little or not cost to students. But they’re not without their skeptics, including here in Minnesota – and they’re a development that Minnesota state law hasn’t fully understood. MPR’s Alex Friedrich will have the story.

About the blogger

Bob Collins has been with Minnesota Public Radio since 1992, emigrating to Minnesota from Massachusetts where he was vice president of programming for Berkshire Broadcasting Company. Previously, he was an editor at the RKO Radio network in New York, and WHDH Radio in Boston. He is the founder of the MPR News’ website.

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Sorry bro. If your job and the health insurance is that important you shouldn’t have been doing things online that would jeopardize them.

Heather

I’m with Kevin. And the guy who posted all sorts of pervy, non-consensual material exploiting women and girls is worried about his WIFE? What kind of pathological disconnect IS that, anyway?

Kassie

I agree completely with Kevin.The internet is not anonymous. If you piss off enough people, someone is going to find you out. Don’t do things that may make you lose your job if you can’t afford to lose your job. Was it right to out the guy? Maybe not, but that was the risk he took.

essjayok

No sympathy for the internet troll.

If people think they can do terrible things and hide behind a cloak of internet-anonymity, that’s just ignorant and adding on a new layer of disgusting.

He did things online that are criminal off-line. I am glad he was unmasked. I am not sympathetic.

BJ

4) THE ETHICS OF UNMASKING

For those saying the Troll should have been outed and are happy he lost his job. Did you read the linked story to learn about Oliver Sipple? Thinking about the good people hurt by revealing something personal should be considered when dealing with someone bad.

kennedy

Re#3: The story implying racial bias by Timberwolves management is, in my opinion, a phantom issue created to generate controversy and interest. In fact, the article mentions two instances this summer where the Timberwolves pursued players who happen to be black. Both rejected the Timberwolves, choosing to play elsewhere for less money. Players have many reasons to prefer or avoid teams, and race may be a factor. The recent traffic stop of a Minnesota Lynx player illustrates that the community in Minnesota may not be the most tolerant of racial diversity. But unfounded accusations by a few community activists with an agenda is a weak reason to pitch charges of team racism.

Heather

I don’t think being gay and being Violentacrez are remotely comparable.

Chris H

Although Michael Brutsch may have been an awful person online, there has to be a comparison to a political activist fighting a repressive regime remaining anonymous.

It is possible that exposing the political activist could encourage others in that country to stand up, but there would be consequences to the individual.

where do you balance the morality of consequences to the individual against the good for the greater society? who gets to be the judge?

I would actually be curious how his job could justify his firing as well.